Blind-slat adjuster.



PATENTED JAN. 1'7, 1905.

J. HATFIELD.

BLIND SLAT ADJUSTER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1904.

Witneoow rre Srrns Patented January 1'7, 1905.

JOHN HATFIELD, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

BLlND-"SLMT ADJUSTEW...

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 780,172, dated January 17, 1905.

Application filed September 29, 1904:. Serial No. 226,518.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN HATFIELD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Blind-Slat Adjusters, of which the following is a specification.

My present inventioii relates to certain new and useful improvements in that class of devices known in the art as blinrbstops or blind-slat adjusters; and it has for its object to provide a device of this character that will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and easy and effective in operation.

I am well aware that various devices somewhat resembling the present invention and designed to accomplish the objects in view have been proposed heretofore; butsuch prior devices are open to many serious objections and have never, so far as 1 am aware, gone into general use. One of the most serious objections to these devices as heretofore constructed resides in the fact that they act only on one end of a blind-slat, the arrangement and operation of the device being to force the opposite end. of the slat and the pintle thereof into binding contact with the shutter-frame. Devices acting in this manner are unsatisfactory and impracticable, for the reason that the slats during operation bind against the shutter-framc when the device is first applied, and consequently work hard and uneven, and after a Very short time this binding of one end of the slats against the shutter-frame causes a wearing or rubbing away of the contacting parts, resulting in rendering the holding device entirely inoperative. A further objection to some of the prior devices resides in the peculiar construction of the devices themselves, in that they do not have a flat and uni form bearing against the end of the slat upon which they are designed to act. Hence they are not effective in operation.

The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the above-noted objections and to provide a device of the character indicated that will be thoroughly practical and effective in operation.

Brie'li y and generally stated, the invention comprises, in combination with the series of pivoted slats of a blind, spring-ar1ns secured to the blind-frame at opposite sides thereof and acting with a yielding pressure upon both ends of one of the slats as distinguished from only one end, the said spring-arms having a uniform bearing against the opposite ends of the slat in whatever position of adjustment the slats may be set.

The invention resides, further, in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the spring-arms, whereby they are adapted to accomplish the purposes in view.

In order to enable others to fully understand, make, and use my said invention, I will now proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being had for this purpose to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an outside blind or shutter having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale, of a part of a blind or shutter with the invention applied. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4=is a section on the line i 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a section on the broken line 5 5 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the spring clips or arms constituting the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the referencenumeral 1 designates a blind or shutter which may be of the ordinary inside or outside type and having the usual slats 2 pivoted to the side rails 3 thereof, the slats being connected by the well-known operating-rod 4.

My improved stop or holding device, of which there are two employed for each series or panel of slats, consists of a curved or substantially U-shaped plate 5, of spring metal, the two ends of the plate being bent outwardly at 6 to provide offset portions 7, having screw or nail openings 8 therein. As will be seen by referring to the drawings, the body portion 5 of the spring-plate is perfectly smooth and hat and is in the same plane throughout, while the offset ends 7 are parallel with said body portion, but offset therefrom. This construction of plate has several decided advantages over the various types of plates heretofore patented, as will be hereinafter made apparent.

In applying the spring clips or arms to a blind I attach one of the devices to the inner face of each side rail 3 in line with one of the slats 2, preferably the middle slat of the series or panel, so that the yielding portion 5 of each plate will have a flat bearing against the end of the slat in whatever position of adjustment it may be set. As will be seen by referring to the drawings, the two spring clips or arms 5 lie parallel with the ends of the slat, and thus have a uniform bearing thereagainst, and as they embrace the opposite ends of the slat they prevent the slats from having a binding or rubbing contact with the side rails 3 of the blind or shutter, thus affording a free and easy movement of all the slats on their pintles. At the same time the friction exerted by the spring clips or arms 5 upon the said opposite ends of one of the slats acts to effectively hold the entire series or panel of slats in whatever position of adjustment they may be moved. It will be noted that the two spring-clips embrace the opposite ends of one of the slats with a yielding pressure, the one arm operating in opposition to the other. Thus it will be seen that a firm frictional holding action is obtained, such as will not be likely to loosen or give through continual use.

This is an important feature of the invention and an advance over those heretofore patented, which act on one end of the slat only. The general U-shape configuration of the spring clips or arms enables a quick and ready application thereof to a blind or shutter without in any manner interfering with the pintles of the slats. When applied, the yielding portion 5 of the spring clips or arms lies substantially parallel with the end of the slat upon which they act. Thus these yielding portions bear upon the ends of the slat throughout their entire width, which results in a more firm and uniform grip or embrace of the arms or clips with the slat, and this of course increases the holding power thereof.

What 1 claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

As an article of manufacture, a blind-stop, consistingof a U-shaped plate having a smooth and flat yielding portion and offset ends, the said ends lying in a plane parallel with the yielding portion.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN HATFIELD.

l/Vitnesses:

CLARENCE E. HORN, EDWARD A. ZEHR. 

